158 FAMILIAR WILD FLOWERS. 



On this account,, also, it is at times erroneously called the 

 milk-thistle ; the true milk-thistle is a very different plant. 

 Two very distinct forms or varieties of the common 

 sow-thistle are met with. These are sometimes considered 

 as different species, and called the Sonckus oleraceus and 

 the S. asper respectively; while by other botanists one 

 species only is recognised, the S. oleraceus, which at times 

 exhibits so marked a variation that it is known as the 

 8. oleraceus, var. asper. The points of difference do 

 not appear to be constant; the variety is often found 

 growing with the typical plant, though in some districts 

 almost all the plants are either of one or the other form, 

 The plant represented in our illustration is the S. oleraceus, 

 var. asper, or the S. asper, if it be granted the rank of an 

 independent species. The prickly variety we have selected 

 for our illustration ordinarily has its leaves darker in colour 

 than the normal form, less cut up into lateral segments, 

 and much more prickly in character : the portion of the 

 leaf that clasps the stem is also rounder and more densely 

 fringed with prickles ; these auricles, as they are termed, 

 or little ears, the name given to these clasping bases of the 

 leaves, are also much rounder in form and more marked 

 every way in the asper variety. In our own garden, where 

 the sow-thistle, from its freedom in seeding, is a perfect 

 nuisance, all the specimens are of the prickly type, and we 

 certainly found no difficulty in procuring any number of 

 characteristic specimens for the purpose of our illustration. 



The sow-thistle is an annual, frequently attaining a 

 height of from three to four feet. Unlike the corn 

 sow-thistle, its stems and leaves are almost entirely free 

 from hairs. The leaves are a rather deep green in colour, 

 have a polished surface, are deeply divided into lateral 



